In the game of roulette, a wooden, precision gimballed wheel with the numbers 1 through 36 and "0" and "00" embossed on the rim and having individual slots corresponding to each number is used. The numbers are normally alternately red and black and the zeros are green.
The roulette wheel is normally located embedded in one end of a table, and on the table a betting layout is marked having the same numbers found on the wheel. The betting layout includes additional sections which may be used for side bets.
Prior to spinning the wheel, bets are placed by the players on chosen numbers, and the wheel is spun by the croupier. The croupier then drops or flips a small ivory ball, sending it spinning around the rim of the stationary rimmed wheel in the direction opposite the direction of wheel rotation. From this instant in time, the wheel spins and the ball travels the rim until the momentum of the ball is sufficiently slowed due to frictional and gravity forces that it falls from the rim, strikes one or more raised obstacles set into the wheel, and finally falls into one of the numbered slots. When the wheel has slowed sufficiently for the croupier to see which number is the winner, he places his marker on the winning number on the betting layout, collects the losing bets and distributes the payout of the winning bets. The time between the instant the croupier initially drops the ball to the instant he places his marker can be more than a minute.
During the time the wheel and ball are spinning, there is a lull in the action. Because of their seating location, the players can not see the spinning wheel clearly. The croupier, who stands adjacent the spinning wheel, is the only person at the roulette table who has a clear view of the wheel.
The number of bets that can be placed in any given time period is limited by the time delay during which ball and wheel are spinning. Bets can be placed at any time after the previous betting layout is cleared and all bets are paid. Betting stops when players hear the ball drop in the numbered slot. If the time period could be shortened between the instant the croupier flips the ball and the eventual settling of the ball into a numbered slot and slowing of the wheel to a speed slow enough to determine by eye which slot the ball is in, then the number of bets placed per unit time, e.g. number of bets per hour, would be increased. Thus, for those who enjoy roulette, their enjoyment would be increased. For the casino owners, who, on the basis of the law of averages are always winners, profits would increase.
The simplest bet in roulette is a one-number bet in which a chip is placed on a single number including "0" and "00" (in European casinos there is no "00"). Every bet loses if either "0" or "00" comes up if a player is not wagering on same. The payoff in a winning one-number bet is 35 to 1. Thus, on the average, since there are thirty-eight slots on the wheel (thirty-seven in Europe), for every thirty-eight spins the house wins thirty-seven times and loses once (thirty-six wins and one loss in thirty-seven spins in Europe). Since the payout is 35 to 1 on the one loss by the house, the house advantage, assuming a perfect unbiased wheel is 2/38ths or 5.26% (2.70% in Europe). The house "take" is thus the product of the total amount of bets, the number of spins per unit time, the time period of play, and 5.26%, again averaged over a relatively long period of time to eliminate random errors. It is thus clear that if the number of spins per unit time is increased, the house "take" is increased.